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Psychology > BIOLOGICAL APPROACH- Holzel et al(Mindfulness and brain scans) > Flashcards

BIOLOGICAL APPROACH- Holzel et al(Mindfulness and brain scans) Flashcards

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1
Q

State the psychology being investigated (terms)

A
  • Localisation of function (brain scans)
    -Mindfulness
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2
Q

Describe localisation of function

A

This is the way particular brain regions are responsible for different activities. They can be investigated through different scanning techniques.

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3
Q

What are the 2 scanning techniques that can investigate localisation of function as well as what was used to measure brain structures changes

A
  • MRI and FMRI
    (Function and structural)
  • Voxel- based Morphometry
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4
Q

Describe mindfulness

A

A stress reduction technique used to improve well being by meditation which aims to increase awareness of the present moment, enabling the person to view themselves in a compassionate way

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5
Q

Describe gray matter

A
  • A tissue in the brain and spinal cord that plays a crucial role in allowing one to think, learn and control their body
  • It contains several functions such as memory and muscle coordination as well as our cognition
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6
Q

How did they distinguish between grey matter and white matter

A

They used the voxel based morphometry (VBM) plainly focusing on the ROIs and the whole brain.

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7
Q

State 2 aims of the study

A
  • Identify the changes in specified brain regions and the whole brain by comparing grey matter concentration before and after an 8 week mindfulness course.
  • a comparative study to assess th effectiveness of mindfulness training on stress reduction.
  • To compare the entire brains of those who were put in the mindfulness training group and control group
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8
Q

What were the 2 IV of the study

A
  • Participants who received MBSR(mindfulness training) VS those who didn’t (control group)
  • Data collection time (pre- time point VS post-time point)
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9
Q

How was data collection time operationalised

A

data collected 2 weeks beginning of the 8 weeks study period and 2 weeks after it finished

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10
Q

What type of experimental design was it

A

Independent measures design

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11
Q

State the features of the sample and which sampling technique was used

A
  • Opportunity sampling
  • 33 (initially 35)
  • ages 22-55 years
  • all right handed to investigate left side of brain
  • all recruited from 4 MBSR courses from the centre of mindfulness at the university of Massachusetts
  • all individuals reported to be physically and psychological healthy with no medication
  • all were either referred to by their doctor to take the course or wanted to take the course
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12
Q

what were the further 4 inclusions for each participants

A
  • no meditation classes in the past 6 months
  • no more than 4 classes in the past 5 years or 10 classes in their lifetime
  • No contradictions for MRI scanning
  • commitment to attend all 8 classes and complete the daily work
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13
Q

Describe the experimental group

A
  • average age of 38 years
  • 6 males (initially 8) and 10 females
  • average years of education 17.7 years
  • 13 caucasian
  • 1 black
  • 1 asian
  • 1 multi ethnic
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14
Q

Describe the control group

A
  • average age is 39 years
    -average years of education is 17.3 years
  • 13 caucasians
  • 2 African Americans
  • 2 Asians
    1- Hispanic
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15
Q

Describe the FFMQ (five facet mindfulness questionnaire)

A

-on a 5 point rating scale: 1 (never or rarely true) and 5(very often and always true)
- It included 39 items that measured:
- observations (thoughts)
- descriptions (describing the thoughts)
- acting with awareness (attentiveness)
- non-judging (non- criticising to oneself)
- non- reactivity (thoughts can drift in and out

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16
Q

How did they opperationlaise the mindfulness of each participant

A
  • How HIGH or LOW they scored in the FFMQ
  • the 5 categories were added up to get the persons total FFMQ score
17
Q

What referred to a “reverse score” in the FFMQ

A
  • There were some instances that showed a mindful person would select a “Never or rarely true” for a 5 rather than a 1 in the previous questions e.g “I am easily distracted” showed a reverse score
18
Q

what were the 2 main Brain regions of interest

A
  • Hippocampus and insulae
19
Q

What were the experimental group given in order to complete the exercises at home

A
  • a 45 mins audio recording of guided mindfulness exercises e.g yoga and meditation
20
Q

what was the approximate duration between the pre test/ first scan and post- test/ final scan

A

56 days!!! (experimental)
66 days!!! (control)

21
Q

Why did the control group complete the FFMQ again at the end

A
  • To check whether there had been an increase in scores in order to see whether the MBSR training actually had an impact or not.
22
Q

Describe the 3 techniques used in the MBSR training

A

Body scan: gradually feeling small sensations in the body which leads to further awareness of the body/mind

Mindful yoga: this training involves the person being fully aware and present as well as self compassion with an acceptance of the body strengths and limitations

sitting meditation: this allows a gradual awareness of the conscious and our senses

23
Q

mention how the study was standardised

A
  • used same FFMQ( standardized rating scale) e.g. FFMQ had a correlation of +0.87 across all 8 questions in “acting with awareness”
  • The use of the MRI which was either 2 weeks before training and 2 weeks after
  • the experimental group was exposed to the same training techniques for the same duration
24
Q

Mention how the study was NOT standardised

A

The time spent on the mindfulness training for each individual was different as this had to be implemented in their everyday lives

25
Q

State the 6 results of the study

A
  • There was improvements in the FFMQ scores with the exp. group compared to the pre-test scores
  • No significant difference between the control group and exp. group at the beginning
  • No significant changes in the grey matter concentration for the control group
  • there was significant increase in grey matter for the exp. group
  • No increase in grey matter in the insulae due to the short period of time
  • No correlation found between Grey matter conc. and amount of time spent in MBSR
  • No parts of the brain showed a decrease in grey matter Except for the control group in their PCC
26
Q

Which ROIs in the study was there significant increase in grey matter

A
  • left hippocampus
  • posterior cingulate cortex
  • temporal parietal junction
  • lateral cerebellum
  • cerebellar brainstem
27
Q

State the 4 conclusions from the study

A
  • structural changes in the ROI showed an increase in grey matter after an 8 week period of MBSR
  • due to the hippocampus being involved in learning and memory, their was an increase in grey matter due to the MBSR being a learning experience
  • no changes in the insulae due to the 8 week period being too short to show any change
28
Q

State a point for Nature

A

+ structural plasticity/ there was changes in grey matter conc. in key brain regions

29
Q

State a point for Nurture

A

+ the use of the MBSR training techniques which had to have the participants learn how to deal with stress

30
Q

Situational VS individual

A

Situational- They were either in the exp. group or control group and that affected their increase in grey matter

Individual- participants chose the exercise that they preferred and for how long and how regular they did them differed

31
Q

How can this study be applicable

A
  • MBSR training can be used to help people reduce stress improve their wellbeing e.g Yr 12 psychology students
  • Organisations can apply this to their employees who may be under stress
32
Q

Give strengths of the study

A
  • Highly standardised to test for reliability
  • No previous mindfulness training over the past 6 months
  • use of independent measures design so less order effects
  • Generalisability as it is diverse
  • high ecological validity as people naturally go for meditation, yoga.
  • Use of MRI was objective
33
Q

Give weaknesses of the study

A
  • The amount of time spent on exercises was not standardised
  • use of self reports (subjective)
  • Generalisability as few sample
  • Low ecological validity with the use of MRI
  • weaknessof IMD- personal traits
34
Q

Describe the ethics in the study

A
  • Protection from psychological harm (due to the scanning and claustrophobia from the MRI)
  • Informed consent
  • MBSR course prices were reduced
35
Q

State 1 weakness and 1 strength of using a longitudinal study

A

+ Can collect in-depth data for a long time so that behavioural changes can be recorded (structural plasticity)
- Can sometime lead to participant attrition whereby the participants end up leaving the study which lowers the generalisability

36
Q

Why was the control group described as a waitlist group

A
  • This is because of how similar they were to the experimental group and therefore met the same criteria as them.
37
Q

describe how participant variables were controlled

A
  • participant varibales were controlled using a repeated measures design by testing the same people twice
    not much difference between the 2 groups such as age and education background
38
Q

what were the mean number of each mindfulness exercise done

A

Body scan- 699
Yoga- 327
Sitting meditation- 332

39
Q

which items in the FFMQ showed an improvement in scores after the training

A
  • acting with awareness
  • non judging
  • Observing

Psychology (24 decks)

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